{"id":2339,"date":"2014-07-25T07:33:06","date_gmt":"2014-07-25T11:33:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/vweisfeld.com\/?p=2339"},"modified":"2014-08-05T07:46:03","modified_gmt":"2014-08-05T11:46:03","slug":"pulling-the-trigger-is-easy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vweisfeld.com\/?p=2339","title":{"rendered":"\u201cPulling the trigger is easy\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Russian<\/a>

Russian Buk missiles (photo: wikipedia)<\/p><\/div>\n

Discovery of “shrapnel-like holes” on pieces of the fuselage of downed Malaysia Airlines flight 17 adds to evidence suggesting it was shot down using Russian Buk missile technology (which NATO calls the SA-11). A Wired<\/a> article by Alex Davies reveals just how easy that would be. Says Davies, \u201cThe weapon in question is the SA-11, a radar-guided surface to air missile (SAM) system.\u201d The system is mobile, as it was designed to protect troops near the front line from fighter jet attacks. It can hit targets up to twenty miles away and higher than 70,000 feet. It requires a crew of just four.<\/p>\n

Once the system is set up, that crew doesn\u2019t need much training to use it. It\u2019s knowing what to fire at<\/em> that takes the skill, because \u201cthe SA-11\u2019s radar system shows the same \u2018blip\u2019 for all different targets,\u201d Davies writes. He quotes Paul Huter a Lockheed-Martin aerospace engineer: \u201cOnce the radar picks up a target, it is a matter of telling the system that it should engage the target and issuing a fire command.\u201d Another interviewee compared it to firing a gun. \u201cPulling the trigger is easy. Judgment is hard.\u201d<\/p>\n

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